Committee Against Torture, Consideration of reports submitted
by States Parties under article 19 of the Convention, Egypt, U.N. Doc. CAT/C/34/Add.11
(1999).

* The initial
report of Egypt is contained in document CAT/C/5/Add.5; for its consideration
by the Committee, see documents CAT/C/SR.14 and 15 and Official
Records of the General Assembly, forty-fourth session, Supplement
No. 46 (A/44/46 (paras. 123-144)). See also document CAT/C/5/Add.23,
containing written replies of the Government of Egypt to questions
raised by the Committee. The second periodic report of Egypt is contained
in document CAT/C/17/Add.11; for its consideration by the Committee,
see documents CAT/C/SR.162, 163/Add.1 and Official Records of the
General Assembly, forty-ninth session, Supplement No. 44 (A/49/44)
(paras. 74-96).

Introduction

1. Egypt
has the honour to submit to the esteemed Committee its third periodic
report pursuant to the provision of article 19, paragraph 1, of the
Convention. In accordance with the Committee's guidelines concerning
initial and periodic reports, this report will consist of a part which
contains information of a general nature covering the legal framework
for acts prohibited under the Convention, the legal status of the
provisions of the Convention, the means of redress available under
the provisions of the Egyptian legal system, efforts connected with
promoting awareness of the Convention and difficulties relating to
its application.

2. Part one
will cover measures and developments relating to the implementation
of the Convention in accordance with the sequence of articles 1 to
16 of the Convention, part two will cover the additional information
requested by the Committee and part three will cover the conclusions
and recommendations of the Committee.

3. At the
request of the Committee, the general part and part one of this report
will, as appropriate, fully encompass the oral account which Egypt
gave during the Committee's discussion of its previous report, as
well as the replies provided during that same discussion to the queries
and questions of the members of the esteemed Committee.

4. The statistical
data, contained in part one, on complaints, judicial processes and
compensation awards were obtained from correspondence sent by the
Department of Public Prosecutions and the Ministry of the Interior
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and filed in the Department of
Human Rights Affairs.

Information of a general nature

5. This part
will discuss the following points:

A. The general
legal framework pursuant to which torture is prohibited;

B. The legal
status of human rights conventions in Egypt;

C. The responsible
authorities and the available means of redress;

D. Promoting
awareness of and disseminating the provisions of the international
human rights conventions;

E. Problems
and difficulties relating to implementation of the provisions of the
Convention.

6. In order
to avoid repetition, appropriate reference will be made to the contents
of Egypt's two previous reports concerning the following points, which
will be discussed in detail:

A. The
general legal framework pursuant towhich torture is prohibited

7. In its
two previous reports, Egypt provided a detailed explanation of this
general framework from both the legal and constitutional standpoints
and during its discussion of Egypt's second report, the Committee
expressed its satisfaction concerning the legislative situation. The
features of this framework will come under further discussion in the
commentary on article 1 of the Convention contained in part one of
this report.

B. The legal status of human rights conventions in Egypt

8. In regard
to the legal status of human rights conventions in Egypt, international
conventions in general are governed by the rules laid down in article
151 of the Constitution, pursuant to which such conventions, following
completion of the measures relating to them, perform the same function
as a law of the country. Paragraph 1 of the aforesaid article stipulates
that "The President of the Republic shall conclude treaties and
submit them to the People's Assembly, together with an appropriate
explanation. They shall have the force of law after their conclusion,
ratification and publication in accordance with the prescribed procedures."

9. As a consequence
of the above, following their ratification and publication, international
conventions on human rights and freedoms are considered equivalent
to a law promulgated by the legislative authority. Their provisions
are thus equated with any Egyptian legal provisions which are applicable
and enforceable before any legislative, executive or judicial authority
of the State. Any person may also invoke the application of their
provisions before any State authority.

10. In accordance
with the said legal status of human rights conventions in Egypt, the
principles of human rights and freedoms contained in international
conventions enjoy the following constitutional and legal features:

1. The protection prescribed by the constitutional rule

11. Having
been incorporated into the provisions of the Constitution, the principles
of human rights and freedoms, including those within the concern of
the Convention against Torture, enjoy the protection prescribed by
the constitutional rule whereby any legal provision in force when
the Constitution is promulgated which contravenes or conflicts with
those principles is deemed unconstitutional. The same applies to any
law which may be promulgated by the legislative authority following
the entry into force of the Constitution. Accordingly, any interested
party may, at any time and in the prescribed circumstances, have recourse
to the Supreme Constitutional Court with a view to obtaining a ruling
of the unconstitutionality of such provisions or laws. Published in
the Official Gazette, the rulings pronounced by the Court are deemed
final and enforceable against all authorities in the State.

12. As the
Convention is a law of the country, all of its provisions are directly
and immediately applicable and enforceable before all State authorities,
which are bound to comply with such provisions and the principles
stipulated therein. As such, any person who is injured by the failure
to do so has right of recourse to the competent judiciary based on
the nature of the contravention and the circumstances prescribed for
securing the rights accruing as a result.

2. The consideration of encroachment on fundamental
freedoms or rights as an offence which is not
subject to any statute of limitations

13. Article
57 of the Constitution stipulates that any encroachment on the personal
freedom of citizens or on the other rights and public freedoms guaranteed
by the Constitution and the law constitutes an offence, that criminal
or civil proceedings in connection therewith are not subject to any
statute of limitations and that the State guarantees fair compensation
to any person who is a victim of such offence.

14. The legislator
therefore has a duty to designate as an offence all the said acts
of encroachment and to stipulate that criminal or civil proceedings
in connection therewith are not subject to any statute of limitations
with a view to ensuring that the victim secures his right and that
the wrongdoer is punished, irrespective of the time which has elapsed.
It is also his duty to oblige the State to provide compensation for
such offences.

15. Accordingly,
under the Egyptian legal system, torture is an offence in connection
with which no criminal or civil proceedings are subject to any statute
of limitations.

16. It should
be mentioned that the Convention against Torture was promulgated by
Republican Decision No. 154 of 1986 and published in the Arabic language
in Official Gazette No. 1 of 7 January 1988, and that it took effect
as an Egyptian law from 25 July 1986.

C. The responsible authorities and the available means of redress

17. It is
clear from the above that, in accordance with the constitutional principles
and legal rules on which the Egyptian legal system is based, all State
authorities are bound by the constitutional and legal principles laid
down in connection with human rights and freedoms and are accordingly
liable in the performance of their work and the exercise of their
jurisdictions. It is also clear that the independent judicial authority
ensures through its various bodies that everyone has access to all
means of redress on the basis of the type of dispute, the parties
involved, the rights claimed and the occurring violations of those
rights.

18. The judicial
bodies which are charged with guaranteeing public rights and freedoms
and which exemplify the means of redress available to individuals
under the Egyptian judicial system are: the two branches of the judicial
authority, the Supreme Constitutional Court, the civil and criminal
judiciary and the State Council (the administrative judiciary). Individually,
the details of these are as follows:

1. The Supreme Constitutional Court

19. The Supreme
Constitutional Court is the judicial body which is competent to consider
the constitutionality of laws and regulations and to interpret legislative
provisions. In that it is vested with the sole competence to adjudicate
in such matters, it is a specialized court which operates as an independent
identity.

20. The Court
was established pursuant to chapter V, part II, articles 174 to 178,
of the 1971 Constitution to replace the Supreme Court that owed its
existence to Act No. 81 of 1969, which was repealed pursuant to Supreme
Constitutional Court Act No. 48 of 1979. An independent judicial body,
it is self-existent and has its seat in Cairo. Its members cannot
be removed from office and its rulings in constitutional proceedings
are published in the Official Gazette, as are its renderings of interpretation.
Its rulings are binding on every authority in the State, and following
the pronouncement and publication of such rulings in the Official
Gazette on the legally specified date, any provision which the Court
has adjudged to be unconstitutional is annulled and may no longer
be applied from the day following publication of the ruling. If the
provision which is adjudged unconstitutional relates to a provision
of criminal law, any convictions handed down on that basis are deemed
null and void.

21. By law,
applications connected with determining the competent enforcement
agency are fee-exempt, as are disputes relating to execution, and
a fixed fee of LE 25 is levied for constitutional proceedings, the
aim being to facilitate the process of recourse to the Supreme Constitutional
Court and ensure that judicial fees are neither excessive nor an impediment
to the ability of individuals to avail themselves of such recourse.

22. The Supreme
Constitutional Court has delivered a number of rulings relating to
human rights in general and has adjudged as unconstitutional various
legislative provisions which it deemed to be inconsistent with, contrary
to or a restriction on those rights and freedoms.

2. The judicial authority

23. The judicial
authority is dealt with in chapter V, part IV, articles 165 to 173,
of the Constitution. In those articles, it is stipulated that the
judicial authority is independent, that judges are also independent
and are subject to no power other than the law, that there may be
no interference in their activities and that they cannot be dismissed.
Article 172 stipulates that the State Council is an independent judicial
body that is competent to adjudicate in administrative disputes and
disciplinary proceedings.

24. The judicial
authority in Egypt is thus divided into civil and criminal courts
of all levels, the administrative judiciary and the State Council,
each of which will be discussed individually.

The civil
and criminal judiciary

25. The civil
and criminal branches of the courts adjudicate in every type of civil
dispute and in criminal disputes relating to legally prescribed offences.
They perform this task in accordance with the law and within the framework
of the disputes brought before them, guided by the established constitutional
principles and in conformity with the rules and procedures prescribed
in the Code of Civil Procedure and in the Code of Criminal Procedure
applied in the criminal courts. Both Codes regulate the levels and
kinds of court, the scope of their jurisdiction, the levels of appeal
against judgements handed down, the means of recourse to the judiciary,
procedures for the examination of proceedings and the prescribed guarantees
for litigants and the defence. By law, the party injured by an offence
is permitted to claim civil compensation in the criminal courts during
the course of their examination of cases relating to legally prescribed
offences, which, as a matter of course, include offences in connection
with the violation of the public rights and freedoms of individuals.

The administrative
judiciary and the State Council

26. In the
context of exercising its jurisdictions and powers and executing any
ensuing decisions and regulations in connection with individual and
communal interests, such as services which it provides or procedures
which it is required to undertake in regard to citizens, the executive
authority must naturally comply with all the constitutional principles
and legal rules in force in the country. In the measures within its
discretion which it takes, it must pursue the public interest, as
well as pure and objective criteria, and act in the interests of citizens
in accordance with those criteria and the legal rules observed. The
State Council and the administrative judiciary constitute the means
of legal redress of which any person may avail himself in challenging
both positive and negative decisions of the executive authority or
the refusal to give a decision or carry out a required procedure.
Any person who resorts to the expedient of the administrative judiciary
may seek to have set aside decisions which are in breach of the law,
jurisdiction or form, or which are flawed owing to the defective application
or misinterpretation of the law or to abuse of power. Such person
may also claim compensation.

27. The State
Council is an independent judicial body (article 172 of the Constitution).
The State Council Act No. 47 of 1972 defines the competence of the
courts of the State Council as adjudicating in appeals against final
decisions and in motions for the annulment of administrative decisions
(in which connection, for the aforementioned reasons, the refusal
to give a decision is in effect regarded as an administrative decision),
as well as in related compensation claims and appeals against disciplinary
decisions. The law also regulates the means and procedures of appeal
against judgements, together with the level of such appeals, and regards
rulings to set aside a judgement as universally conclusive. Any refusal
to execute such rulings is designated as an offence under the Egyptian
Penal Code (article 123).

28. It is
clear from the above review of the legal status of human rights conventions
in Egypt and the means of redress available under its judicial system
that any interested party may have recourse to the two judiciary authorities
(the ordinary judiciary or the State Council) in accordance with the
nature and type of dispute and the rights accruing as a result or
the rights claimed. The aim is that such party should be able to claim
his rights or achieve the fulfilment of his demands, either before
the ordinary judiciary by seeking punishment of the accused and compensation
for damage inflicted on him if the violation of his rights and freedoms
constitutes an offence under the law, or, if not, by seeking compensation
alone, or before the administrative courts by seeking the annulment
of administrative decisions, together with appropriate compensation,
on grounds that such decisions are flawed.

29. In both
cases, the litigant may, where appropriate, invoke direct enforcement
of the provisions of human rights conventions in as much as they are
a valid Egyptian law pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution.
If, during the stages of litigation, the litigant is precluded by
legal provisions or regulations from realizing his intentions or legitimate
claims on the basis of the rights and freedoms contained in the said
conventions, he may appeal before the Supreme Constitutional Court
by seeking a ruling to the effect that the legal provisions in question
are unconstitutional on the grounds that they violate the constitutional
principles encompassing all such rights and freedoms. In that event,
the court examining his case must adjourn the proceedings until the
Supreme Constitutional Court delivers its ruling. It must then comply
with the conclusions contained in the given ruling, which, under the
Constitution, is binding on every authority in the State.

30. In this
connection, the two following matters should be pointed out:

(i) Equally
applicable to the above means of redress is everything applicable
to each of the rights and freedoms provided for in human rights instruments
and the Constitution in connection with the validity of article 40
of the Constitution concerning the principle of equality before the
law and non-discrimination on grounds of race, origin, language, religion,
creed or any other form of distinction or differentiation.

(ii) In
one of its rulings, the Supreme Constitutional Court stated that the
right of litigation is guaranteed for all nationals and foreigners
in Egypt with the same safeguards necessary to administration of justice.
It also stated that, in accordance with article 68 of the Constitution,
the State is responsible for ensuring that every national or foreign
individual has access to its courts and for duly protecting all prescribed
rights by respecting the fundamental safeguards needed to ensure an
effective administration commensurate with the levels attained in
the developed countries (ruling delivered in Case No. 8, judicial
year 6, hearing of 7 March 1992).

D. Promoting awareness of and disseminating the provisionsof the international human rights conventions

31. As already
stated, international conventions are published in the country's Official
Gazette on completion of the measures ratifying Egypt's accession
to them. Published in the Arabic language, the Official Gazette disseminates
all laws, republican decisions and international conventions, the
significance of which is that it enables everyone to keep abreast
of the laws and also determines the date of their effectiveness and
entry into force in the country. Its issues are published in sequence
or in special editions and are sold in places which sell government
publications. Postal subscriptions may also be taken out. Sold below
cost at a nominal price to ensure that it is easily obtainable, the
Official Gazette is regarded as an important periodical which public
and private libraries endeavour to stock as part of their reference
materials. It is also sought after by all those working in the legal
field as a periodical devoted to the publication of laws in accordance
with article 188 of the Constitution, which stipulates that laws must
be published in the Official Gazette within two weeks of the date
of their promulgation and enter into effect one month after the day
following the date of their publication unless another date is specified.
The provisions of laws may be applied only to matters which occur
on or after the date of their entry into force. In non-criminal matters,
however, it may be stipulated otherwise by a majority of two-thirds
of the members of the People's Assembly (article 187 of the Constitution).

32. Notwithstanding
that the effect of dissemination in the Official Gazette is to keep
everyone abreast of the laws and to specify the date of their enforcement,
the scope of their effectiveness and the field of their implementation,
which is primarily the concern of legal practitioners, international
human rights instruments arouse profound interest among all sectors
of the people in Egypt. Accordingly, in compliance with the provisions
which they contain, the Government endeavours to promote awareness
of those instruments and increase insight into them by making efforts
to ensure that they are enforced in a manner which exemplifies the
cherished humanitarian values connected with human rights and freedoms.
In that endeavour, the main link is with the process of social upbringing
and education, as it is these alone which shape the behaviour of the
next generations and ensure that they are instilled with such values
and rights, conscious of their benefits and eager to reap their fruits.

33. Accordingly,
all international human rights instruments are now studied in Egypt
as core subjects in law faculties, in police colleges and in other
colleges teaching in relevant fields such as economics, political
science, education, arts, commerce, tourism and nursing, as well as
in specialist research and scientific centres, the idea being that
the students in such places of learning will be among the first to
display commitment to the objectives of those instruments and implement
their provisions. They will also be the most highly capable of defending
others to that end and will undoubtedly be able to broaden the sphere
of those working in the field by means of the activities which they
will perform by virtue of their qualifications. In an attempt to achieve
the above objectives, Egypt has furthermore devoted attention to developing
education programmes at every stage to ensure that students are conversant
with the international human rights instruments and with their objectives
and the noble aims embodied in their provisions.

34. In addition,
trade unions, white-collar unions and private associations, being
legal entities with branches throughout the country, assume a leading
role in promoting awareness of human rights and freedoms by ways and
means befitting the circumstances and nature of each vocation, job
or workplace. Government and private efforts to eradicate adult illiteracy
and ensure country-wide access to information and cultural services
are also instrumental in broadening the base of knowledge among the
various categories and groups of citizens and in strengthening their
awareness of the international human rights instruments.

E. Problems and difficulties relating to implementationof the provisions of the Convention

35. No legal
difficulties are entailed in the implementation of the Convention,
which is consistent with the provisions of the Egyptian Constitution
and the relevant legislation. It is also one of the country's laws
and, as already stated, it is not at variance with any other legislative
enactments.

36. The problem
of illiteracy, however, presents a major difficulty in connection
with applying the provisions of human rights conventions in general,
including the Convention in implementation of which this report is
submitted, since the illiteracy rate in Egypt is relatively high.
All State agencies are therefore striving to eradicate adult illiteracy,
which is a national duty under the Constitution.

37. As such,
the efforts of the State to eradicate illiteracy play an important
and effective role in helping to promote public awareness of human
rights and freedoms, since those who achieve literacy will consequently
be able to learn about such rights for themselves and invoke them
on their own behalf. A steady increase in the number of individuals
who are in a position to know, defend and secure their rights is therefore
guaranteed.

38. In the
context of the Convention against Torture, the repercussions of the
illiteracy problem have an immediate impact on any measure relating
to investigation or trial, whether in connection with the submission
of complaints and the process of seeking information about suspects,
victims or their places of domicile, or whether in connection with
inspections and controls, the questioning and examination of witnesses
or other measures which are integral to investigations. As a result,
procedures are often slow and it is therefore difficult to ensure
their completion within a reasonable period of time.

39. Given
the difficulties generated by illiteracy, the Government, in conjunction
with the international organizations concerned and sister States,
is making every effort to develop and modernize the agencies involved
in the administration of justice and shift them over to working with
computers and electronic records, which will accelerate the completion
of work and facilitate its control.

40. These
plans are already in motion; databases of legislative acts and legal
and judicial principles are in use at the Court of Cassation, with
links to the courts of appeal, some courts of first instance and the
Department of Public Prosecutions. A database on civil and personal
status, criminal evidence and prisons is also up and running in the
Ministry of the Interior.

41. In this
context, it should be pointed out that, in all types of cases, the
plea of torture is commonly used in the defence of suspects before
the judiciary whenever the circumstances of the charge so permit.
The purpose of doing so is to escape punishment, have the charges
resulting from the investigation dropped and the trial procedures
adjourned, as the legal rules stipulate that such a defence must be
investigated and settled; if it proves to be true, it must be admitted
and confessions made under torture must be invalidated and an acquittal
declared if the confession is the only documented evidence. On the
other hand, if the claim made in the defence proves to be false, it
must be dismissed and the accused must be punished for the charge
levelled against him.

I. COMMENTARY ON THE ARTICLES OF THE CONVENTION

Article 1

The definition
of torture in accordance with the provisions of Egyptian law

42. In its
two previous reports, Egypt discussed the legal situation pertaining
to offences of torture in Egypt, which is based on the two essential
foundations of constitutional status and legal status. The Egyptian
Constitution provides safeguards guaranteeing individual rights and
freedoms and prohibits the subjection of individuals to physical or
mental harm, having stipulated the following constitutional principles
and precepts:

(a) Any
person who is arrested or imprisoned or whose freedom is in any way
restricted must be treated in a manner conducive to the preservation
of his human dignity and no physical or mental harm must be inflicted
on him (article 42);

(b) Criminal
or civil proceedings in connection with offences of encroachment on
the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, including
the offence of torture, are not subject to any statute of limitations
(article 57);

(c) The
State guarantees fair compensation to any person who is a victim of
such an offence (article 57);

(d) Any
statement which is proved to have been made under torture is deemed
null and void (article 42).

43. These
constitutional principles and precepts enjoy judicial protection in
that the constitutionality of laws is subject to judicial control.
Under the Constitution, the Supreme Constitutional Court is vested
with that task, thus ensuring that the national legislator abides
by those principles and precepts, which may not be breached. Any promulgated
law which embodies a breach of that nature is unconstitutional and
therefore defective.

44. As for
legal status, torture has been an offence under the provisions of
the Egyptian Penal Code since the end of the last century. In volume
II of the current Penal Code No. 57 of 1937, a special chapter is
devoted to coercion and ill-treatment of individuals by public officials,
and acts relating to torture are designated as offences under articles
126 and 282 of the Code, as follows:

Article
126 of the Penal Code:

"Any public servant
or official who orders, or participates in, the torture of an
accused person with a view to inducing the said person to make
a confession shall be punished by hard labour or imprisonment
for a period of 3 to 10 years. If the victim dies, the penalty
shall be that prescribed for premeditated murder."

Article
282, paragraph 2, of the Penal Code:

"In all cases,
anyone who unlawfully arrests a person and threatens to kill him
or subjects him to physical torture shall be sentenced to hard
labour."

45. The general
provisions stipulated in the Penal Code concerning attempted offences,
which are punishable in accordance with articles 45 and 46, apply
to these offences and to any of the forms of participation in them
prescribed under article 40 of the Penal Code, namely instigation,
consent or aiding and abetting. In accordance with article 41 of the
Penal Code, any accomplice in such offences is to receive the same
penalty as the principal author. Acquiescence to torture is punished
as if it were an order to carry out torture.

46. In the
same way, an order given by a superior officer does not legitimize
torture and cannot be invoked as a justification of it in accordance
with article 63 of the Penal Code, since the act for which any such
order is given, namely torture, is regarded as an offence.

47. The judicial
application of the penal provisions mentioned has evolved a number
of legal principles which have become established practice in accordance
with the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court:

(a) The
Egyptian Penal Code punishes torture carried out by a member of a
public authority or by an individual, whether during the arrest, confinement
or imprisonment of a person in the legally prescribed circumstances
or otherwise;

(b) Since
the Egyptian Penal Code does not specifically describe or define the
acts or actions which occasion torture, any act or action which results
in physical, psychological or moral torture is a punishable act in
accordance with the provision of article 126;

(c) In order
for the offence of torture to obtain, Egyptian law does not stipulate
that a specific degree of severe pain or suffering from torture should
occur or that the torture should leave marks. As such, the offence
of torture obtains however slight or negligible the pain may be and
whether or not the torture leaves marks;

(d) Confessions
extracted under torture or duress, even if they are true, are deemed
null and void.

48. Examples
of judicial rulings will be cited in part two of this report.

49. The provisions
of Egyptian law are broader and more general than those of the Convention,
since article 1 of the latter defines torture as any act by which
severe pain or suffering is inflicted, whereas Egyptian law imposes
no prerequisites concerning the degree or extent of pain or suffering.
As such, the offence of torture obtains whether the ensuing pain or
suffering is severe or slight. Egyptian law also stipulates that civil
or criminal proceedings in connection with torture are not subject
to any statute of limitations.

Article 2

(a) Legislative,
administrative and judicial measures for the preventionof
acts of torture

50. Egyptian
legislative, administrative and judicial measures for the prevention
of acts of torture encompass various measures aimed at precluding
the occurrence of acts of torture, punishing those responsible, ensuring
that they do not escape with impunity and guaranteeing the rights
of the victim to fair compensation through the constitutional principles
referred to in the commentary on article 1. The details of these measures
are as follows:

(i) Legislative
measures

51. As previously
stated in the commentary on article 1, acts or threats of torture
are regarded as a punishable offence under the provisions of the Egyptian
Penal Code. Irrespective of the form which it takes, any act of torture
is a criminal offence, whoever the author or instigator may be and
regardless of whether or not the victim is left with any physical,
moral or psychological traces and whether or not a confession, true
or false, is obtained.

52. The Egyptian
penal legislator adopted a clear approach in determining the penalty
for acts of torture, imposing harsh punishment for acts or threats
of torture carried out by a public servant or on his orders, for which
he prescribed the penalty of hard labour for a period of 15 years.
If the torture results in the victim's death, the penalty of life
hard labour, which is the same as that for premeditated murder, may
be imposed. The legislator also prescribed the same penalty for threats
of torture in accordance with article 282 of the Penal Code.

53. Acts
involving coercion and ill-treatment by public officials are designated
as criminal offences under article 129 of the Penal Code, as they
constitute acts of infringement on and harm against others with intent
to induce confession. Acts involving the ill-treatment of a citizen
by a public official, whatever the position of the latter or the capacity
of the former, are also designated as offences under the same article,
which applies to all public officials, including those working in
the agencies concerned with the administration of criminal justice.
Any person involved in interaction with the public officials to which
article 129 applies who is subjected to such acts enjoys the benefit
of its provisions.

54. The application
of this article does not preclude implementation of the articles of
the Penal Code concerning deliberate injuries. These articles apply
on the basis of the seriousness of the infringement, for which the
penalty is progressively heavier according to specific aggravated
circumstances, such as the duration of the exercise, premeditation,
ambush, use of weapons or instruments, physical disablement, or beating
at the hands of a gang or crowd (articles 240 to 243 of the Penal
Code). This will be covered in further detail in the commentary on
article 16 of the Convention.

55. It is
worth pointing out that, pursuant to the provision of article 145
of the Penal Code, it is a punishable offence for a person to fail
to report an offence which he knows or believes to have occurred.
Concealing evidence, aiding the escape of the perpetrator and providing
false information about the offence are also designated as criminal
acts under the provisions of the Egyptian Penal Code.

56. The Egyptian
Code of Criminal Procedure No. 150 of 1950 also contains provision
for the aforementioned constitutional principles, as follows:

Criminal proceedings
in connection with the torture provided for in articles 126 and
282 of the Penal Code are not subject to any statute of limitations
(article 15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure);

Civil proceedings
in connection with the said offences are not subject to any statute
of limitations (article 259 of the Code of Criminal Procedure);

Any statement made
by a suspect or witness under duress or threat is considered null
and void (article 302 of the Code of Criminal Procedure);

The Department of
Public Prosecutions, examining magistrates and attorneys of the
courts of first instance, appeal and cassation have the right
to enter and inspect prisons (article 42 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure and articles 85 and 86 of the Prisons Act).

(ii) Judicial
measures

57. In accordance
with the provisions of the Constitution, the judicial authority in
Egypt enjoys complete independence. Members of the judiciary and the
Department of Public Prosecutions in Egypt enjoy judicial immunity
and cannot therefore be removed from office. The affairs of the judiciary
are overseen by its own special commissions. The considerable importance
attached by the legislator to acts of torture, whether by designating
them as criminal offences or by prescribing safeguards for those subjected
to them, is reflected in the judicial measures required by law in
connection with cases of torture (these being felonies, which are
serious offences carrying severe penalties). These measures can be
summarized as follows:

(a) The
members of the Department of Public Prosecutions are under obligation
to conduct a preliminary investigation into all complaints received
from police stations or submitted directly to the Department concerning
such offences, these being felonies which the Department is required
by law to investigate. It is also required to seek and examine evidence,
hear witnesses, conduct inspections and avail itself of assistance
from doctors and other experts. Following completion of the investigation,
the Department of Public Prosecutions may order that the case should
be committed for trial or that there are no grounds for instituting
proceedings if the evidence is false or insufficient, if the perpetrator
is unknown or if proceedings are abated owing to the death of the
suspect. The victim may lodge a complaint with the courts against
such orders, of which he must be notified by law.

(b) Following
their investigation, any cases referred to the judiciary by a decision
of the Department of Public Prosecutions are examined before the criminal
courts, which consist of divisions constituted of three justices at
the highest level of the judiciary who are chosen by the general assemblies
of the courts of appeal at the commencement of each judicial year.
The court conducts the final investigation in public hearings unless
it is decided otherwise and also hands down its judgements in public.

(c) The
victim has the right to make a civil claim during the stages of the
investigation or trial with a view to seeking compensation for the
damage inflicted on him as a result of the offence.

(d) The
courts are under obligation to investigate and respond to the defence
of suspects concerning statements attributed to them as a result of
torture or coercion, such being a material and legal defence. Any
failure to do so is regarded as a justification for challenging a
judgement.

(e) The
court is required to explain the grounds for the convictions and acquittals
which it gives and to adjudicate in civil proceedings brought with
a view to seeking compensation for the victim of the offence.

(f) Judgements
handed down by the criminal courts may be challenged before the Court
of Cassation for the prescribed legal reasons, namely defective application
of the law, the arrival at incorrect conclusions and prejudice to
the right of defence.

58. The judicial
inspection of prisons is a key judicial measure exacted by the legislator
which must be carried out by members of the Department of Public Prosecutions
in their areas of jurisdiction. They may inspect any prison site at
any time with a view to ascertaining compliance with laws and regulations
and taking the necessary action in connection with any breaches exposed
as a consequence of the inspection. They are also under obligation
to accept complaints from prisoners and inspect all prison documents
and records.

59. Another
of the judicial measures taken was to establish the Office of Human
Rights in the Department of Public Prosecutions. Falling under the
Office of the Attorney-General, the Office is competent to investigate
complaints of torture and other human rights violations and is staffed
by a considerable number of experts from the Department of Public
Prosecutions who devote their time exclusively to the investigations
concerned, which they endeavour to complete promptly. Further details
will be provided in the commentary on article 12 of the Convention.

60. As to
judicial applications, some of the judicial interpretations and principles
pronounced in connection with torture cases will be cited in part
two of this report.

(iii) Administrative
measures

61. The varying
administrative measures taken in this field by Egypt encompass all
agencies working in the administration of criminal justice. The State's
plans in that connection are built on the three key elements of development,
training and education. In essence, these plans are based on introducing
and promoting awareness of the human rights conventions, including
the Convention which is the subject of this report, as well as on
training those working in the different fields concerned with the
administration of criminal justice, such as officers of justice, personnel
from the Department of Public Prosecutions, members of the police
and doctors. They are also based on developing the administrative
personnel in those fields with a view to raising the standard of performance,
which will make its impact felt in the ease with which information
can be retrieved and checked and the timeliness with which the necessary
case decisions are taken. Development-related matters will be discussed
in some detail in connection with training and education in the commentary
on article 10.

62. The plans
for development are based on updating and mechanizing administrative
work in the agencies concerned with the administration of criminal
justice by equipping them with computers and machine memory systems.
Included in this move forward are the courts, the Department of Public
Prosecutions, the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Ministry
of Justice and the agencies concerned with criminal investigation,
prisons and civil status at the Ministry of the Interior. These plans
were begun in tandem five years ago in all of the agencies mentioned,
the idea being that they should form part of the Government's five-year
plan and receive the necessary financial allocations. Simultaneous
coordination is also ongoing with the relevant bodies of the United
Nations and with friendly States with a view to reaping the benefit
of their expertise in this field. The aim of the development is both
to provide a scientific environment that is conducive to furthering
the administrative performance of the agencies concerned with the
administration of criminal justice and to have personnel who are trained
in the use of modern equipment in order to facilitate the accomplishment
of work and ensure the accuracy and speedy retrieval of data and information.
This will have its impact in that much less time will be needed for
completion of the required legal procedures and investigations, thereby
resulting in the prompt adjudication of cases and equally prompt legal
decision-making by the competent authorities.

63. In the
context of Egypt's growing interest in human rights issues in general,
it is worth noting that, in September 1992, a permanent mechanism
was established to deal with such issues at the internal and external
levels in the form of a specialist human rights department in the
Ministry of the Interior to serve as a link between the concerned
agencies. It is staffed by representatives from those agencies and
is able to seek expert assistance in all fields. In addition to preparing
periodic reports for submission to the committees of the United Nations,
it replies to United Nations agencies and rapporteurs and provides
international experts to local agencies. The department is headed
by a deputy assistant emissary of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

(b) Exceptional
situations and states of emergency

64. Article
148 of Egypt's Permanent Constitution, promulgated in 1971, deals
with matters relating to exceptional situations and states of emergency,
in which respect the Egyptian legislator adopted the approach of pre-emergency
legislation, since the Constitution provides that a state of emergency
should be proclaimed by the President of the Republic in the manner
prescribed by law.

65. The Emergency
Act No. 162 of 1958 regulates the circumstances and measures relating
to public emergencies with the proclamation of a state of emergency
(the details of these provisions were cited in Egypt's previous report
to the Committee). The law contains no indication that the provisions
of the Penal Code concerning offences of torture, wrongful imprisonment
or use of force should be suspended and does not provide that any
party should be accorded the right to suspend the provisions of the
Penal Code or authorize acts which are designated as an offence under
the Code. Consequently, torture and other offences continue to apply,
even in situations in which a state of emergency is proclaimed.

66. Anyone
arrested under the provisions of the Emergency Act is detained in
the prisons specified by law. Such detainees receive the same treatment
as persons held in preventive custody and they enjoy all the rights
specified for prison detainees. They may not be harmed in any way
and their detention is subject to periodic review in that, every 30
days, any concerned person may lodge a complaint with the judiciary.
Consequently, acts whereby such persons are tortured, harmed or detained
anywhere other than in the legally specified prisons are offences
punishable by law in accordance with the above.

67. In this
respect, it should be pointed out that while the provisions of the
Emergency Act are in force, the President of the Republic is permitted
under the Military Sentences Act to refer certain offences for examination
by the military judiciary, a specific judiciary whose judgements are
regulated by law. It is also bound by the principles of the Constitution
in accordance with the provision of article 183 thereof and examines
cases referred to it in the above manner in accordance with the provisions
of the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. It is subject
to the Military Sentences Act and the judgements which it hands down
may be challenged before the Office of Military Appeals on the same
legal grounds as an appeal by cassation. Its judgements are also subject
to ratification, a legal phase through which they must pass for review
by expert judges of the military judiciary itself with the aim of
ascertaining that they fulfil the legal conditions and meet the safeguards
as to defence.

68. Part
two of the report contains detailed examples of judgements pronounced
by the military judiciary in that context.

69. In this
connection, it should be stated that the provisions of the Convention
concerning this matter are now a valid law in Egypt, the entire Convention
having become law following its publication in accordance with article
151 of the Constitution. Consequently, any person has the right to
invoke its provisions before any type of judiciary and the failure
of judicial rulings to apply the provisions of the law provides grounds
whereby such rulings may be challenged on the basis of breach of the
law and failure to apply its provisions.

(c) The
invocation of orders from superior officers as a justification of
torture

70. Concerning
the general principles for permissible causes in Egyptian law, article
63 of the Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that it is not an
offence for an act to be committed by a public official in execution
of an order issued by a superior officer whom he is duty-bound to
obey or if, in good faith, he committed an act in execution of an
order directed by laws or in the belief that the act was within his
competence. Pursuant to that article, a public official is required
in all cases to prove that he committed the act only after scrutiny
and questioning, that he believed it to be legitimate and that such
belief was based on reasonable grounds.

71. Since
torture is an offence punishable under Egyptian law and since ignorance
of the law cannot be invoked as a justification, in accordance with
the above, under no circumstances can acting on the orders of superior
officers be invoked as a justification for committing acts of torture,
using force or carrying out other acts which are designated as offences.

72. The Egyptian
legislator therefore deals specifically with the offence of torture
stipulated in article 126 of the Penal Code, pursuant to which torture
committed on the order of or by a public official is designated as
a criminal offence. Since acquiescence to torture is regarded as an
order to commit torture, under the provisions of Egyptian law, any
person who orders torture and any person who engages in torture on
orders have both committed torture, which is designated as an offence
under the provisions of the Penal Code, and the prescribed penalties
mentioned above apply to them.

73. In this
matter, the Court of Cassation has ruled as follows:

(a) It is
an established principle that a subordinate should not obey an order
given by his superior officer to commit an act which he knows to be
punishable by law. Under no circumstances should obedience to a superior
officer extend to the perpetration of offences (Appeal No. 936 of
judicial year 16, hearing of 13 May 1946; Appeal No. 1913 of judicial
year 38, hearing of 6 January 1969, record 20, section 6, page 24;
and Appeal No. 869 of judicial year 44, hearing of 4 November 1974,
record 25, section 163, page 756);

(b) A person
who does not have the capacity of a public official is not served
by the provisions contained in article 63 of the Penal Code concerning
public officials, even if the relationship between him and the person
giving the order requires his obedience to the latter (Appeal No.
13 of judicial year 32, hearing of 21 January 1973, record 24, section
18, page 78 and Appeal No. 742 of judicial year 49, hearing of 22
November 1979, record 30, section 176, page 821).

Article 3

74. Following
Egypt's accession to the Convention and publication of the Convention
within the country, the obligations arising out of the provisions
of this article, which are directed at the State Party and its competent
authorities, are regarded as legal obligations with which the authorities
must comply and which they may not contravene. Any party damaged by
any decisions which contravene the provisions of this article has
recourse to the judiciary in order to claim his rights in that connection
as stated in paragraph 3 of the general part of this report.

Article 4

75. All the
general principles prescribed in Egyptian law for attempting or participating
in the offence of torture by way of consent, instigation or aiding
and abetting in accordance with articles 40 and 45 of the Penal Code
apply to the offence of torture. The penalty prescribed for the principal
author of the offence equally applies to the accomplice pursuant to
the provision of article 41 of the Penal Code. The penalties specified
in article 46 of the Penal Code also apply to attempted torture.

76. In accordance
with the above, the legislator stipulated the penalty of hard labour,
a harsh penalty which is prescribed for serious crimes and which may
be increased to match the penalty for premeditated murder, namely
life hard labour, if the torture results in the victim's death.

Article 5

77. The Egyptian
Penal Code applies to any person who commits in Egyptian territory
or on board Egyptian ships or aircraft any act regarded as an offence
under the provisions of Egyptian law, irrespective of whether the
offender is an Egyptian or a foreigner (article 1 of the Penal Code).
Consequently, the jurisdiction of the Egyptian judiciary stands in
respect of torture offences occurring in Egyptian territory and the
suspect is tried and punished for such offences in accordance with
the provisions of Egyptian law.

78. Article
3 of the Penal Code also stipulates the any Egyptian suspected of
perpetrating abroad an act that is regarded as a felony or a misdemeanour
under the Penal Code must be punished if he returns to Egyptian territory
and the act is punishable pursuant to the law of the country in which
the act of torture was perpetrated.

79. Accordingly,
any Egyptian who perpetrates the offence of torture provided for in
the Penal Code when he is outside Egyptian territory must, whatever
the nationality of the victim, be tried in Egypt for that offence
if he returns there, provided that the torture offence is punishable
in the country where it was perpetrated. In that case, jurisdiction
passes to the Egyptian judiciary for the trial and punishment of any
Egyptian citizen who, when abroad, perpetrates the offence of torture
in the above manner. Egyptian law does not adopt the nationality of
the victim as a criterion whereby jurisdiction passes to the Egyptian
jurisdiction for the trial and punishment of a foreigner who is suspected
of committing an offence which took place outside Egyptian territory.
Consequently, if the victim is Egyptian, jurisdiction passes to the
Egyptian judiciary in both cases of where the offence is committed
in Egypt, irrespective of the nationality of the perpetrator, and
where the offence is committed abroad by an Egyptian suspect who then
returns to Egypt and the act is regarded as an offence in accordance
with the law of the country in which the offence was committed.

80. The circumstances
relating to the establishment of jurisdiction for offences in respect
of which the perpetrator is in Egyptian territory and is not extradited
are covered under article 8, paragraph 4, of the Convention, which
stipulates that the legal basis for addressing this matter is that,
for the purpose of extradition between States Parties, extraditable
offences are to be treated as if they had been committed in the territories
of the States required to establish their jurisdiction. Such jurisdiction
passes to the judiciary in the State so required in accordance with
the provisions of this paragraph, as following Egypt's accession to
the Convention, it became an Egyptian law and must therefore be applied
in the situations mentioned.

81. The provisions
of the Convention do not exclude any jurisdiction of the Egyptian
judiciary in accordance with the provisions of Egyptian law.

Articles 6-9

82. The provisions
of articles 6 to 9 are deemed to be directly enforceable. As such,
they constitute the legal and legislative basis for the measures prescribed
therein in accordance with the Egyptian legal system. Hence, following
Egypt's accession to the Convention, they constitute legislative principles
which are directly enforceable in Egypt and binding on all the authorities
to which they apply.

83. In the
context of international judicial assistance in criminal matters,
throughout the course of its history, Egypt has constantly strived
to accede to international treaties which combat crime and has also
concluded a number of bilateral agreements on cooperation in the criminal
field. In the absence of any such agreement, the general directives
of the Department of Public Prosecutions allow for cooperation in
that field on the basis of international courtesy and reciprocity
and in accordance with the provisions of Egyptian law in a manner
that does not conflict with the Constitution, the law or public order.

Article 10

84. The State's
plans concerning measures to combat the acts prohibited under the
Convention and ensure their effective implementation are based on
the key elements of development, training and education. As reference
has already been made to the State's efforts to develop and modernize
the agencies involved in the administration of criminal justice, the
commentary on this article will discuss training, education and information.

Training

85. The State's
plans for training personnel in the different specialized agencies
involved in the administration of criminal justice are carried out
through intensive in-house and external training programmes in coordination
with the ministries concerned and with scientific organizations, international
organizations and friendly States.

86. A component
of the training programmes is to introduce and provide information
on all international human rights instruments, including the Convention
against Torture. The training programmes which have been completed
will be discussed in part two of this report.

Education

87. The State's
plans, policies and programmes are based on introducing and providing
information on human rights conventions in general during the primary,
secondary and university stages of education, which is the best way
of imbuing human rights principles and values in young people throughout
the stages of their social upbringing. This will be automatically
reflected in the behaviour of the next generations and the knowledge
which they hold.

88. As part
of this commitment, human rights principles and freedoms are being
gradually introduced into the teaching syllabuses, which, in Egypt,
are comprehensively reviewed to that end by education experts so that
they can be developed with a view to implanting human rights principles.

89. In higher
education, human rights conventions are studied as core subjects in
the Police College, in the relevant scientific institutes and in the
faculties of law, economics, political science and arts, as well as
in colleges where business, tourism, teacher training and nursing
are studied.

Information

90. In the
context of introducing and promoting awareness of human rights conventions,
specialist associations, such as the Egyptian Association of Criminal
Law, the Egyptian Association of International Law, the Egyptian Association
for Social Defence and the Egyptian Association for the Welfare of
Prisoners, together with similar international specialist organizations
worldwide, run awareness-raising programmes, conferences and seminars
on the relevant human rights conventions.

91. The efforts
of the associations in that area are viewed as significant activities
which draw widespread interest from their members, as well as interest
and participation from representatives of government, parliaments
and the judiciary.

92. Similarly
important are the efforts of political parties, opposition newspapers
and the white-collar trade unions in all sectors, whose objectives
are notably based on promoting awareness of the general rights and
freedoms of all citizens.

93. Media
and cultural bodies also play a major role in promoting awareness
of human rights conventions through their specialized and arts programmes,
inter alia, which address the people at all levels using appropriate
information materials.

94. In the
light of compliance with the Constitution and the objectives of the
press as stipulated in the Press Act, the press is the leading effective
mechanism in introducing human rights through its role in disseminating
culture and following up news reports and important issues which capture
the public attention.

95. The above-mentioned
Egyptian laws prohibit the acts within the concern of the Convention,
which has valid effect and by which all citizens and public officials
are bound.

Article 11

96. All legal
measures relating to interrogation rules, requirements and methods
and to arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected
to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment are subject to various
forms of control and follow-up with a view to ascertaining, on the
one hand, compliance with the provisions of the law and, on the other,
that those who break the law are questioned by law enforcement officers,
as such measures constitute the main guarantees for safeguarding the
freedoms and rights of citizens. The control and follow-up of those
measures with a view to preventing the occurrence of any cases of
torture or abuse of authority is based on the three key elements of
judicial, administrative and scientific follow-up.

Judicial
follow-up

97. The judicial
follow-up in this field includes the following:

(a) Any
person who knows that an offence has occurred is under obligation
to report it, an obligation which applies to public officials pursuant
to articles 25 and 26 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This measure
constitutes an important safeguard in respect of the offences pertaining
to this report, which the victim or his relatives may be prevented
from reporting as a result of the trauma to which they may have been
subjected. This obligation makes it possible for the said offences
to come to light and for the perpetrators to be questioned in accordance
with the law.

(b) The
Department of Public Prosecutions and the courts are required to conduct
a mandatory review of all procedures carried out in connection with
the investigation of cases submitted to them and ascertain the validity
and soundness of the measures taken. They are also required to investigate
the defence of the suspects in the case and to process the cases accordingly
in the light of the outcome, whether involving invalidation of the
procedure or nullification of the evidence ensuing from it. This obligation
constitutes an important safeguard in uncovering any legal breach
of the procedures followed entailing the judiciary and the defence
for the suspects. The Department of Public Prosecutions is responsible
for investigating such breaches and punishing whoever is responsible
for them.

(c) The
failure of the investigating authorities or the courts of first instance
to fulfil the above obligation and investigate the defence of the
persons concerned in this respect provides grounds for a challenge
to the judgement, which may be set aside as a result.

(d) The
Department of Public Prosecutions and examining magistrates, together
with presiding officers and attorneys of the courts of first instance,
appeal and cassation, have the right to enter and inspect prisons,
record any infringements which come to light and take the necessary
action accordingly. They must also ascertain compliance with the law
and regulations and check the records and documents of the prisons
under inspection.

Administrative
follow-up

98. As part
of the administrative follow-up, senior officials at all levels are
required to follow up, oversee and inspect their subordinates and
the work which they perform, subject them to administrative questioning
about any professional, administrative or organizational breaches
on their part in connection with their work and report any action
of theirs which constitutes an offence under the law to the Department
of Public Prosecutions. Another part of the follow-up involves appraising
the work results of the departments concerned with conducting financial,
administrative and professional inquiries and issuing the instructions
needed to implement their recommendations.

Scientific
follow-up

99. Scientific
centres, research centres and universities assume an important ongoing
role in keeping under constant review all measures which constitute
essential safeguards for citizens. The National Centre for Judicial
Studies and the National Centre for Social and Criminal Research both
carry out scientific research and hold seminars and conferences attended
by members of the judiciary and the Department of Public Prosecutions,
university professors, the military judiciary, the police, doctors
and personnel working in the administration of criminal justice, the
aim being to learn about the practical side of penal provisions and
measures by conducting scientific and statistical analyses in order
to uncover any failings or legal loopholes which prevent them from
being applied in the optimum manner.

100. The
results of any judicial and administrative follow-up and the findings
of scientific research receive the attention of the official authorities,
as do the recommendations of the above scientific conferences and
seminars, which, in so far as they reflect a specialist view, the
Government endeavours to implement by issuing instructions or directives
or, where necessary, by amending legislation.

Article 12

101. The
Permanent Egyptian Constitution, promulgated in 1971, guarantees the
sovereignty of the law as the basis of government in the State and
also stipulates that the State is subject to the law. The independence
and immunity of the judiciary are also two fundamental safeguards
for the protection of rights and freedoms (articles 64 and 65).

102. Under
article 70 of the Constitution, criminal proceedings may be instituted
only by order of a judicial authority, except where otherwise provided
by law.

103. The
Code of Criminal Procedure is consistent with that provision, having
vested the Department of Public Prosecutions with the competence to
investigate and prosecute in criminal proceedings. The Department
is regarded as a judicial authority and its members enjoy judicial
immunity in accordance with the Judicial Authority Act.

104. Under
the law, the Department of Public Prosecutions is permitted to refer
cases to the judiciary, police investigations alone being sufficient
in cases of misdemeanour, which are offences for which the penalty
is imprisonment or a fine. It is also required by law to investigate
cases of felony, which are offences for which the prescribed penalty
is imprisonment, hard labour, lifelong hard labour or death. Following
investigation, the Department of Public Prosecutions has the right
to place cases on file for the legally specified reasons or to refer
them to the judiciary. The law also permits complaints to be lodged
against judicial decisions of the Department of Public Prosecutions
to place cases on file and thus requires the Department to notify
the victim and the civil plaintiff or, in the event of the death of
either, their heirs, of any decision to place a case on file (article
62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

105. The
investigation procedures of the police and the Department of Public
Prosecutions are carried out in accordance with the measures and guarantees
prescribed in law and were previously discussed in detail in Egypt's
earlier periodic reports.

106. On the
basis of the above, the torture offences stipulated in articles 126
and 282 of the Penal Code are regarded as felonies for which the penalty
may be hard labour or life hard labour in accordance with Egyptian
law. They must therefore be investigated by the Department of Public
Prosecutions itself as soon as they are reported to it.

107. In such
situations and depending on the circumstances surrounding each communication,
the first requirement of the investigation is to confront the victim,
establish whether he has any apparent injuries and hear his statements
concerning any torture to which he was subjected. The place where
the torture allegedly took place must then be examined, statements
heard from the witnesses for the prosecution and the defence and forensic
tests carried out in order to ascertain the authenticity of the complaint
as depicted by the victim. Based on the findings of the forensic report,
witness statements and the examination conducted, the cases must then
either be committed for trial to the judiciary or placed on file owing
to false or insufficient evidence, failure to identify the perpetrator
or legal reasons, such as the death of the suspect or the absence
of any offence. In torture offences, the statute of limitations cannot
be invoked as grounds for the abatement of criminal proceedings. As
already stated, the Department of Public Prosecutions is required
to notify the victim and the civil plaintiff or their heirs of any
decisions to place a case on file, as the victim has the right to
lodge a complaint against such decisions before the judiciary.

108. In the
light of the above, Egyptian law guarantees to the victim in torture
cases that an investigation will be immediately conducted by an independent
judicial authority that enjoys immunity, namely the Department of
Public Prosecutions, which is required under the law to complete the
investigation in accordance with the legally prescribed safeguards
for the defence of suspects and victims and to proceed with it in
accordance with the law and within the limits of its legal authority.

Article 13

109. Under
the Egyptian law system, the right to complain is a constitutional
right, as the Constitution provides that everyone has right of recourse
to the judiciary. It is also forbidden for laws to provide that any
act or administrative decision is immune from the control of the judiciary
pursuant to article 68 of the Constitution. The right to complain
to the competent authorities is guaranteed to everyone under the Constitution
and is covered by the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 150 of 1950,
which places investigation officers under obligation to accept communications
and complaints which they receive concerning offences of any type
and immediately transmit them to the Department of Public Prosecutions
(article 24). By law, the victim's complaint is a prerequisite for
the instigation of criminal proceedings in certain offences such as
libel, blasphemy and theft among close family relatives.

110. The
law provides that a person who is deprived of his freedom has the
right to submit a written or verbal complaint at any time and request
that it should be reported to the Department of Public Prosecutions.
The prison warden is under obligation to accept the complaint, enter
it in the complaints register and report it immediately to the Department
of Public Prosecutions (article 80 of the Prisons Act No. 396 of 1956).

111. The
complaints register is an official register which prisons are required
to keep and which is subject to checking during judicial or administrative
inspections of the prison.

112. In addition
to the above, the law imposes a duty on any person, including public
officials, who knows that an offence has been committed to notify
the Department of Public Prosecutions or an investigation officer
(article 45 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

113. In the
context of these provisions and general rules regulating the right
of complaint, the victim in offences of torture or use of force has
the right to complain to the police or the Department of Public Prosecutions.
Similarly, any person, including public officials, who knows that
such offences have occurred has the right to report them. The victim's
complaint is not essential to the instigation of criminal proceedings.

114. The
police provide the necessary protection for the victim or witnesses
at their request and their subjection to threat constitutes the offence
provided for in article 327 of the Penal Code. The law also punishes
false testimony by witnesses and the act of forcing a witness to refrain
from giving testimony in accordance with the provisions of articles
294 to 300 of the Penal Code.

115. In this
connection, it should be pointed out that the right of complaint is
not subject to any statute of limitations in regard to the acts of
torture which are designated as offences under articles 126 and 282
of the Penal Code, since, as already stated, in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution, criminal and civil proceedings in
connection with such offences are not subject to any statute of limitations.
This safeguard, which is dealt with separately under the Egyptian
Constitution, affords the right to prosecute the suspect in torture
offences after any length of time and seek his punishment, as well
as compensation for the victim for the damage and pain inflicted on
him accordingly.

Article 14

116. The
right of all persons to engage in litigation is safeguarded and guaranteed
in accordance with article 68 of the Constitution. The judicial authority
is also independent and is exercised by courts of various kinds and
levels which pass judgement in accordance with the law (article 165
of the Constitution). Judges are also independent and subject to no
authority other than the law, and there can be no interference in
matters of justice (article 66 of the Constitution). Judgements are
handed down and executed in the name of the people and any refusal
on the part of public officials to execute them is an offence punishable
by law. The successful plaintiff has the right to institute criminal
proceedings directly before the competent court in accordance with
article 72 of the Constitution. Article 123 of the Penal Code stipulates
the penalty of imprisonment and dismissal for any public servant who
refrains from executing a judgement, while article 63, paragraph 2,
of the Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that the successful plaintiff
may institute proceedings directly against a public official or officer
of law in respect of the said offence. The Egyptian legal system therefore
provides means of obtaining redress through the independent judicial
authority and designates as an offence punishable by law any refusal
to execute judgements handed down. As to the offences which are the
subject of this report, article 57 of the Constitution stipulates
that any encroachment on the personal freedoms or privacy of citizens
or on the other rights and public freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution
and the law constitute an offence in connection with which criminal
or civil proceedings are not subject to any statute of limitations.
It also stipulates that the State guarantees fair compensation to
any person who is the victim of such an offence. This constitutional
rule constitutes an important safeguard of the principles of human
rights and freedoms in Egypt and it applies to torture offences in
that they are an encroachment on the rights and freedoms guaranteed
by the Constitution, as stated by the legislator in article 259 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure.

117. In accordance
with general principles, Egyptian law affords victims and any person
damaged by an offence the right to institute civil proceedings, a
right which passes to the victim's heirs. Similar proceedings may
also be instituted against those with civil liability for the action
of the accused (articles 251 and 259 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
Compensation is at the discretion of the judges, who, in making their
assessment, take into account all the effects of the torture, including
rehabilitation costs, where necessary.

118. The
State guarantees fair compensation for any person who has suffered
an infringement of his public rights or freedoms or who has been subjected
to torture in the above manner in accordance with article 57 of the
Constitution. Similarly, the right to compensation for torture offences
is not subject to any statute of limitations and compensation may
be rightly claimed after any length of time.

119. The
right to compensation passes to victim's heirs on his death. If his
death ensues from the act of torture, they are entitled to claim two
types of compensation, namely compensation for any foreseen or unforeseen
damage, material or moral, which they have suffered and compensation
for material damage inflicted on their testator.

120. Preliminary
compensation awards made for cases of torture and abuse of authority
will be cited in part two.

Article 15

121. Under
the Egyptian legal system, it is a constitutional and legal principle
that statements which are established to have been made as a result
of torture should not be invoked as evidence, as article 42 of the
Constitution states as follows:

"Any citizen who is
arrested or imprisoned or whose freedom is restricted in any way
must be treated in a manner conducive to the preservation of his
human dignity. No physical or mental harm shall be inflicted on
him, nor shall he be detained or imprisoned in places other than
those which are subject to the legal provisions governing prisons.
Any statement which is established to have been made under the
influence or threat of anything of the above-mentioned nature
shall be considered null and void."

122. Article
302 of the Code of Criminal Procedure contains the same principle,
as it provides that any statement by a suspect or witnesses which
is established to have been made under coercion or threat is considered
null and void.

123. In accordance
with the above, under the Egyptian legal system, this is an important
constitutional and legal principle which constitutes a fundamental
safeguard for citizens and which all types of civil and military courts
are required to apply. This principle must also be implemented both
in ordinary situations and in situations where the Emergency Act is
in force.

124. Just
as the Egyptian penal legislator specified no particular amount or
degree of pain or torture which the victim should suffer in order
for the offence of torture to apply, he extended the provision whereby
statements cannot be adduced as evidence to cover all forms or threats
of duress, physical or mental harm or imprisonment in places other
than the designated locations which are subject to the laws governing
prisons.

125. The
failure of the court to apply this principle and respond to the defence
of the person concerned provides legal justification for a challenge
against the judgement.

126. It should
be stated that the implementation of this principle in accordance
with circumstances and legal rules concerns statements which are proved
to the court to have been made in the situations mentioned. Naturally,
this does not prevent the court from convicting the suspect of the
charges against him if it is furnished with evidence of another conviction
that is sufficient to pronounce judgement against him. If such evidence
is not furnished, the court must deem the statements attributed to
the suspect to be null and void and declare his acquittal.

Article 16

127. The
Egyptian penal legislator designates as an offence all forms of inhuman
or degrading treatment committed by a public official, as article
129 of the Penal Code designates as an offence the use of force on
the basis of official position in a manner which is detrimental to
human dignity or conducive to physical pain.

128. The
provision of this article applies to all public officials, whether
they work in the agencies concerned with the administration of criminal
justice or elsewhere, and all individuals, whatever their capacity,
enjoy the protection prescribed by this article whether they are under
arrest, in detention or in other circumstances.

129. Anything
which is detrimental to the dignity of the victim is also designated
as an offence, as are inflicting simple trauma and beating to the
extent of causing injury or wounding. Needless to say, the intent
to extract a confession, which, as already stated, must exist in respect
of the offence of torture stipulated in the Egyptian Penal Code, is
not a prerequisite for implementation of the provisions of this article.

130. Concerning
individuals who are deprived of their freedom as a result of legal
measures taken in their regard, the penal legislator affords them
special protection in addition to the above; under article 127 of
the Penal Code, it is designated as an offence if a public official
imposes on such persons either a punishment which is more severe than
the punishment to which they were sentenced or a punishment to which
they were not sentenced. Article 91 bis of the Prisons Act
No. 396 of 1956 also provides that it is an offence for a public official
to confine a person in any way deprived of his liberty in a location
other than one of the prisons or places subject to legal control.

131. The
forms of participation prescribed in accordance with general principles
in the Penal Code, namely instigation, consent and aiding and abetting,
also apply to the above offences, which cannot be vindicated by the
argument that they were perpetrated on the orders of superior officers,
as such acts are an offence and their perpetrator cannot invoke his
ignorance of that fact as a justification for his action. The perpetrators
of such offences, as well as those who order them or acquiesce to
them, are therefore liable to punishment in accordance with the prescribed
legal controls for participating in an offence.

132. It should
be pointed out that the offences of assault and battery which are
punishable under articles 240 to 243 of the Penal Code overlap with
the offence where a public official inflicts harm on a victim by beating
him, which is designated as an offence under article 126 of the Penal
Code.

133. In this
case, the penalty prescribed for the most serious offence applies
pursuant to the provision of article 32 of the Penal Code. If the
assault causes permanent disfigurement or death, the penalties prescribed
for the felonies stipulated in articles 234 and 240 of the Penal Code
apply.

134. It should
be stated that the exact same obligations contained in articles 10,
11, 12 and 13 of the Convention apply to those to whom article 16
applies.

135. Application
of the provisions of the Convention do not prejudice the provisions
of Egyptian law which designate the use of force as a criminal offence.

136. In part
two, judgements pronounced by the Court of Cassation which comprise
some of the principles and judicial applications in respect to offences
involving the use of force will be cited.

II. INFORMATION IN CONNECTION WITH THE PREVIOUS
QUERIES OF THE COMMITTEE

137. During
the discussion of Egypt's previous report, the distinguished members
of the Committee posed questions and queries concerning the definition
of torture under Egyptian law, the extent to which it included the
forms of torture covered by the Convention and to which the provisions
of the Emergency Act complied with the provisions of the Convention,
the military judiciary, statistical information and practical aspects
in relation to the offences which are the subject of the Convention.
Egypt gave verbal replies to these questions during the course of
the above discussion and mentioned the legal situation in connection
with the said queries in the commentary on the relevant articles of
the Convention in part one. A summary of those replies is given in
the first three paragraphs below, while the fourth paragraph contains
examples of legal judgements and provides statistical data on training,
judicial and disciplinary processes and compensation awards.

A. The definition of torture

138. In regard
to the definition of torture, details concerning the inclusion of
all forms of torture in the provisions of Egyptian law have been given
in the commentary on article 1 of the Convention, contained in part
one of this report, substantiated by examples of the legal principles
established by the Egyptian judiciary in that connection by means
of judgements delivered by the Court of Cassation. Section D below
also contains examples of such judgements.

B. The Emergency Act

139. Egypt's
previous report provided details concerning the status of the Convention
under the provisions of the Emergency Act. It was also confirmed in
the commentary on article 3 of the Convention that the Emergency Act
does not condone torture or alter the legal status of the offence
of torture pursuant to the Egyptian Penal Code. Nor are the constitutional
provisions suspended by its provisions. Moreover, on promulgation
of the Convention, the prohibition contained in article 2, paragraph
3, became a provision of Egyptian law, as when ratified, the Convention
became an Egyptian law that is binding on all authorities.

C. The military judiciary

140. As to
the military judiciary, article 183 of the Constitution states that
it is regulated by law and that its competences are framed by the
principles embodied in the Constitution. It is therefore a specific
judiciary and its judgements are regulated by Act No. 25 of 1966.
It is also bound in its procedures by the fundamental safeguards stipulated
in the Constitution and the law in regard to both suspects and victims.
Military judges are specialized judges who are legally qualified and
trained alongside the ordinary judiciary at the National Centre for
Judicial Studies. The military judiciary is competent to try members
of the military for military offences or public law offences which
they commit. It is also competent to try civilians in circumstances
where an offence is committed in military camps or against military
supplies or equipment. Article 6, paragraph 2, of the aforementioned
Military Sentences Act states that, while the provisions of the Emergency
Act are in force, the President of the Republic may refer certain
offences for examination by the military judiciary, which, in examining
such cases, is bound by the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
No punishments other than those contained in the Penal Code are applied
to suspects and the judgements handed down in such cases are subject
to ratification and may be challenged on the same grounds provided
for appeals by cassation. It should be mentioned that, on the basis
of the aforementioned provision, various cases of terrorism were referred
by republican decision for examination by the military judiciary.
A number of legal and constitutional pleas in connection with the
provision were raised and the Government turned to the Constitutional
Court for an interpretation. The Court ruled that certain offences
of a specific nature, once they had occurred, could be referred to
the military judiciary pursuant to decisions issued by the President
of the Republic (Application for Interpretation No. 1, judicial year
15, hearing of 30 January 1993).

D. Applied statistics

141. In line
with the formulated plans, the authorities concerned run training
programmes for their personnel. The programmes which have been implemented
in this connection are as follows:

1. The Ministry of Justice

142. The
Ministry of Justice regularly and consistently organizes training
courses in the field of human rights for members of judicial bodies.
The course details are as follows:

The National Centre
for Judicial Studies incorporates the subject of human rights
and their applications in the basic training programmes for members
of the Department of Public Prosecutions.

During 1996, the Centre
organized three seminars in conjunction with a mission from the
International Committee of the Red Cross in Cairo with the aim
of providing an introduction to international humanitarian law.

Throughout the year,
the Centre regularly organizes various lectures by senior Egyptian
and foreign professors on the subject of human rights which are
widely attended by members of the judicial bodies.

The Centre sends distinguished
judges to study the English language using the annual grants provided
for studying at the Human Rights Institute in Strasbourg.

Three times yearly,
the Centre for Social and Criminal Research prepares training
and initiative courses, each lasting a minimum of three months,
for public prosecution agents. Since 1992, the courses have essentially
consisted of lectures and studies on the subject of human rights,
international human rights conventions and the role of the Department
of Public Prosecutions in that connection. The specialized courses
each take 30 trainees, amounting to 90 per year, and the initiative
courses take 25 trainees, amounting to 75 per year. A component
of the courses is the preparation of specialist research and the
trainees producing the best work are designated for travel abroad
on grants provided to the Ministry and the Department of Public
Prosecutions.

2. The Ministry of the Interior

143. With
a view to instilling human rights principles and concepts in the hearts
and minds of officers, the Ministry of the Interior runs human rights
training courses, as follows:

144. The
first course was held from 28 May-2 June 1994 at the Centre for Police
Studies and was attended by 22 officers from the agencies of the Ministry
(the State Security Intelligence, the Police Academy, the Training
Department and the General Department of Information and Public Relations).
As part of the course, lectures were given by international experts
from the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and
from the Centre for Human Rights in Geneva, the United Nations Crime
Prevention Office in Vienna and the International Committee of the
Red Cross.

3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

145. In the
context of Egypt's international and regional obligations, since 1993,
the Academy of Diplomatic Studies has always taught human rights subjects
to new entrants. It also holds initiative training courses on those
subjects for Egyptian diplomats and media personnel, as well as for
diplomats from Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

146. The
second course was held from 4-8 June 1998 at the Centre for Police
Studies in conjunction with the United Nations Centre for Human Rights
and the Department of Human Rights Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. It was attended by 19 officers representing the various security
directorates and general departments.

147. In addition,
23 officers were sent to attend courses offered by the Centre for
Human Rights in Geneva on human rights and the safeguarding of fundamental
human freedoms, as follows:

The first course (27-31
March 1995) was attended by six officers holding doctoral degrees
(from the Police Academy);

The second course
(3-7 April 1995) was attended by six officers holding masters'
degrees (from the Police Academy);

The third course (24-27
April 1995) was attended by 11 officers holding doctoral or masters'
degrees (from the Police Academy).

The course
programmes included a review of various human rights subjects and
issues, as well as a number of field visits to the Swiss police authorities.
Meetings were also arranged with United Nations experts and other
persons concerned with human rights and the protection of fundamental
human freedoms.

148. In the
context of implementing the Ministry's policy, which is based on respect
for human rights and the protection of fundamental human freedoms
and on instilling those principles and concepts in the hearts and
minds of students and trainees during their years of study and training,
the Police Academy started to include human rights themes and issues
in its academic syllabuses. It also updated the subject of human rights
in the light of international and regional conventions, internal legislation
and the role of the police in protecting human rights. In the academic
year 1993/94, it ran a cultural competition for students in subjects
relating to human rights and the protection of fundamental human freedoms.
In addition, the college library was stocked with several works dealing
with human rights topics and a scientific section entitled the Criminal
Justice and Human Rights Section was created in the Centre for Police
Studies to cover the sciences of criminal justice, as well as research
on human rights and freedoms and the mechanisms for their protection.

149. The
Police Academy took part in a training course entitled "The fundamentals
of human rights", which was held on 16 December 1995 and organized
by the Centre for Human Rights Studies in the Faculty of Law at Cairo
University.

150. The
Academy works in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(Department of Human Rights) to acquire the latest human rights publications
issued by the Centre for Human Rights in Geneva for use with students,
particularly those in higher education and those specializing in human
rights fields. Such cooperation also covers the activities, courses
and publications of the United Nations Crime Prevention Office in
Vienna.

151. The
details of a cooperation project between the Academy and the States
of the European Union are currently being studied (by the Ministry
for Foreign Affairs) with a view to strengthening cooperation, exchanging
expertise and preparing scientific training courses for members of
the police in fields connected with human rights.

4. Judicial processes in regard to complaints of torture made
to the Department of Public Prosecutions

In 1993

152. In all,
63 communications were submitted to the Department of Public Prosecutions
and were investigated and processed by the Office of Human Rights
of the Attorney-General, as follows:

5 cases
were sent for criminal or disciplinary trial;

6 cases were sent
for punishment of the accused to the administrative authority
to which they were subject;

25 communications
were placed on file owing to the absence of any conclusive evidence
that the alleged act had occurred on the basis of which the person
about whom the complaint was made could be questioned, as the
statements transmitted by the informers were unsubstantiated by
any evidence concerning the reported torture;

11 communications
were placed on file because the perpetrator was unknown, the informers
having failed to accuse any specific person of having committed
the act and the investigations having also failed to identify
any perpetrator;

12 communications
were placed on file owing to insufficient evidence, as the evidence
provided by the informers concerning the torture was either conflicting
or insufficient to send the persons whom they had accused for
trial;

2 communications received
from human rights associations were placed on file, as the person
concerned in the communication stated that he had not been tortured
and denied having reported to any authority that he had been;

2 communications were
placed on file owing to the failure of the informers to provide
their addresses due to misunderstanding the matter which they
were reporting and also owing to the failure to provide information
concerning any government authority which may have dealt with
the persons whose names were contained in the communications.

In 1994

153. Through
the Office of Human Rights of the Attorney-General, the Department
of Public Prosecutions received 71 communications which were processed
as follows:

6 cases were sent
for criminal or disciplinary trial;

2 cases were sent
for punishment of the accused to the administrative authority
to which they were subject;

38 communications
were placed on file owing to the absence of any conclusive evidence
that the alleged act had occurred on the basis of which the person
informed against could be questioned, as the statements transmitted
by the informers were unsubstantiated by any evidence concerning
the reported torture;

8 communications were
placed on file because the perpetrator was unknown, the informers
having failed to accuse any specific person of having committed
the act and the investigations having also failed to identify
any perpetrator;

7 communications were
placed on file owing to insufficient evidence, as the evidence
provided by the informers concerning the torture was either conflicting
or was insufficient to send the persons whom they had accused
for trial.

In 1995

154. Through
the Office of Human Rights of the Attorney-General, the Department
of Public Prosecutions received 55 communications which were processed
as follows:

5 cases were sent
for criminal or disciplinary trial;

6 cases were sent
for punishment of the accused to the administrative authority
to which they were subject;

21 communications
were placed on file owing to the absence of any conclusive evidence
that the alleged act had occurred on the basis of which the person
informed against could be questioned, as the statements transmitted
by the informers were unsubstantiated by any evidence concerning
the reported torture;

6 communications were
placed on file because the perpetrator was unknown, the informers
having failed to accuse any specific person of having committed
the act and the investigations having also failed to identify
any perpetrator;

12 communications
were placed on file owing to insufficient evidence, as the evidence
submitted by the informers concerning the torture was either conflicting
or insufficient to enable questioning of the person whom they
had accused;

5 communications received
from human rights associations were placed on file, as the person
concerned in the communication stated that he had not been tortured
and denied having reported to any authority that he had been.

5. Administrative and disciplinary processes concerningcomplaints of the use of force or torture submittedto the Ministry of the Interior

155. In keeping
with the policy which it follows in its constant endeavour to respect
human rights and safeguard fundamental human freedoms, the Ministry
of the Interior takes prompt action on complaints and allegations
which it receives about officers in connection with human rights violations
by immediately investigating them and referring anyone whose guilt
is established to the Department of Public Prosecutions or to the
Disciplinary Board for trial or for the imposition of disciplinary
penalties. Below is a list enumerating the officers who were referred
to the criminal or disciplinary courts or on whom disciplinary penalties
were imposed (in connection with torture or use of force) between
November 1993 and November 1997.

(a) Complaints
referred to the Department of Public Prosecutions

156. During
the above period, 19 officers were referred to the Department of Public
Prosecutions for criminal trial. Some received mandatory sentences
which restricted their freedom (terms of imprisonment ranging between
two weeks and three years), their punishment being served in public
prisons, while others received suspended prison sentences or were
acquitted of any charge against them, as follows:

12 officers from November
1993 to November 1994;

2 officers
from November 1994 to November 1995;

None
from November 1995 to November 1996;

2 officers
from November 1996 to November 1997.

(b) Disciplinary
Board

157. During
the above period, 35 officers were referred to the Disciplinary Board
for trial. Some received mandatory disciplinary penalties, whether
demotion (for periods of between 2 and 15 days) or suspension from
work for varying periods, some were acquitted owing to the failure
to establish any evidence against them and others are still under
examination by the Disciplinary Board, as follows:

8 officers from November
1993 to November 1994;

12 officers
from November 1994 to November 1995;

6 officers
from November 1995 to November 1996;

5 officers
from November 1996 to November 1997.

(c) Disciplinary
penalties

158. During
the above period, 71 officers received the mandatory disciplinary
penalties (in connection with torture or use of force) of either a
caution, demotion for a period of seven days or suspension from work,
as follows:

22 officers from November
1993 to November 1994;

12 officers
from November 1994 to November 1995;

19 officers
from November 1995 to November 1996;

13 officers
from November 1996 to November 1997.

(d) Compensation

159. On the
basis of the final legal judgements pronounced in cases of use of
force or torture, between 1 January 1993 and 30 September 1998, victims
or their heirs obtained from the civil courts a total of 648 preliminary
compensation awards for material or moral damage inflicted on them,
as follows:

In 1993, 43 awards
were made in favour of victims for compensation of between LE
1,000 and LE 40,000, amounting to a total of LE 339,500;

In 1994, 65 awards
were made in favour of victims for compensation of between LE
1,000 and LE 20,000, amounting to a total of LE 367,300;

In 1995, 121 awards
were made in favour of victims for compensation of between LE
500 and LE 50,000, amounting to a total of LE 706,000;

In 1996, 177 awards
were made in favour of victims for compensation of between LE
1,000 and LE 14,000, amounting to a total of LE 1,023,500;

In 1997, 225 awards
were made in favour of victims for compensation of between LE
500 and LE 30,000, amounting to a total of LE 1,178,000 [$1 =
LE 3.4].

160. It should
be noted that, of these awards, those which became final were executed,
while some are still being considered by the appeal courts.

6. Examples
of judgements delivered in connectionwith cases and allegations of torture

161. The
list below contains examples of the judgements and principles pronounced
by the Court of Cassation and the military judiciary in connection
with cases and allegations of torture, exemplifying the commitment
of the judiciary to comply in practice with all principles, rules,
measures and safeguards relating to torture cases in regard to both
the accused and the victims.

(a) Judgements
and principles established by the Court of Cassation

(i) Concerning
the offence of torture designated as a crime under article 126 of
the Penal Code

162. The
law does not define the meaning of physical torture and lays down
no specific degree of gravity as a prerequisite; that is a matter
left for the trial court to infer at its discretion from the circumstances
of the case (Appeal No. 1314 of judicial year 96, hearing of 28 January
1966, record 17, page 1161).

163. Under
the provision of article 126, paragraph 1, of the Penal Code, a suspect
is any person who is charged with committing a specific offence, even
if he is charged while the investigation officers are still conducting
inquiries into offences and their perpetrators and gathering the evidence
essential to the investigation and proceedings pursuant to articles
21 and 19 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, provided that he is suspected
of having played a part in perpetrating the offence in connection
with which the officers are gathering evidence. There is nothing to
prevent any such officer from being subject to punishment under the
provision of article 126 of the Penal Code if he tortures a suspect
in order to extract a confession, regardless of his motive for doing
so. Nor is there any reason to differentiate between the statements
of the suspect as contained in the report of the investigation conducted
by the investigating authority and his statements as contained in
the evidence report, as the criminal judge is in no way bound by a
specific type of evidence and is at full liberty to draw evidence
from any source in the proceedings if he believes it to be authoritative.
It is also inadmissible to state that the legislator intended to protect
a certain type of confession, as nothing is singled out and it would
be inconsistent with the provision (Appeal No. 1314 of judicial year
96, hearing of 28 January 1996, record 17, page 1161).

164. Statements
made by witnesses and interviewees who were in any way subjected to
genuine torture must be dismissed. No reliance can be properly placed
in such statements, even if they are veritable and true to fact, when
they are extracted by any modicum of torture or coercion. However,
if no torture ever occurred, reliance may be rightly placed in such
statements (Appeal No. 1275 of judicial year 39, hearing of 13 October
1969, record 20, page 1056).

165. It is
decreed that under no circumstances does obedience to a superior officer
extend to the perpetration of offences and that a subordinate must
not obey an order from his superior officer to commit an act which
he knows to be punishable by law. Accordingly, if the appellant's
defence is based on exigency in that he perpetrated the act on the
order of his superior officer, it cannot be said that the appealed
judgement was defective in its application of the law (Appeal No.
6533, judicial year 25, hearing of 24 March 1983, record 34, page
432).

166. Since
any confession to be taken into account must have been made freely
and voluntarily, no reliance can be placed in a confession, even if
it is genuine, when it is the result of any degree of coercion or
threat. A promise or inducement is regarded as comparable to coercion
and threat in that it affects the freedom of the suspect to choose
between making a denial or a confession and leads him to believe that,
by confessing, he will reap some benefit or avoid harm. Accordingly,
when the plea was made in court that the confession of the first and
fifth guilty defendants was the result of the physical coercion to
which the fifth guilty defendant had been subjected in the form of
torture and the moral coercion to which they had both been subjected
in the form of threats, promises and inducements, the court is responsible
for investigating that defence and exploring the link between the
coercion and its cause and relationship with the statements of both
persons. The court, however, refrained from doing so and simply stated
that the prosecution attorney saw no marks of torture on either defendant,
thus excluding the possibility of their coercion, even though the
fact that he noticed no marks on them does not in itself exclude the
possibility that the fifth guilty defendant, who stated that he had
been subjected to physical coercion, bore marks from being tortured
or beaten. Nevertheless, no definitive link was made between threat,
promise and inducement and their confession, in which the court had
placed reliance. The court's judgement was therefore flawed by unsound
evidence and omission (Appeal No. 951 of judicial year 35, hearing
of 2 June 1983, record 34, page 730).

167. In order
for the offence of torture to obtain, Egyptian law does not stipulate
that a specific degree of serious pain or suffering should result
from the torture or that the torture should leave marks. Consequently,
the offence of torture obtains however negligible the pain and irrespective
of whether or not it leaves marks (ruling of the Court of Cassation,
hearing of 5 November 1986).

168. Similarly,
a confession is not required in order for the provision of article
126 of the Penal Code to apply. On the contrary, it is enough that
the suspect should have engaged in torture with a view to inducing
a confession (ruling of the Court of Cassation, hearing of 28 November
1966).

169. The
offence of torture provided for in article 126 of the Penal Code does
not require that the person carrying out the torture should be competent
to seek evidence or conduct an investigation in connection with the
offence perpetrated by the suspect. Instead, it is sufficient that
the public official should, by virtue of his office, have the authority
that places him in a position to torture the suspect with a view to
extracting a confession from him (ruling of the Court of Cassation,
hearing of 8 March 1995).

170. In torture
offences, criminal intent is present where a public official deliberately
tortures a suspect in order to induce him to make a confession, irrespective
of his motive for doing so (ruling of the Court of Cassation, hearing
of 8 March 1995).

(ii) Concerning
the offence of the use of force designated as a crime under article
129 of the Penal Code

171. The
offence of use of force referred to in article 129 of the Penal Code
occurs whenever a public official or servant relies on his position
to use force in a manner which is detrimental to an individual's dignity
or which causes him bodily pain. It is not a prerequisite that the
suspect should be performing his job at the time of committing the
assault or that the assault should attain a specific degree of severity
if the ruling establishes that the suspect was a member of the police
who used his position to assault and wound the victims. Neither the
failure to state whether the suspect was performing his job at the
time of using force nor the failure to state the name of the victim
or the details of the assault provide reason to reverse the judgement
(hearing of 20 March 1944, Appeal No. 374, judicial year 14).

172. The
use of force by public officials on the basis of their position is
an offence punishable under article 129 of the Penal Code. If battery
is involved, it is also an offence punishable under article 242 of
the Penal Code and other articles which punish incidents involving
battery or deliberate injury. When both offences are committed in
one criminal act, pursuant to article 32, paragraph 1, of the Penal
Code, only one punishment may be imposed on the suspect, namely the
punishment stipulated for the more serious offence. The punishment
stipulated under article 241 of the Penal Code for battery where the
person subjected to the battery is unable to lead his normal life
for a period of more than 20 days is heavier than the punishment prescribed
in article 129 of the Penal Code. It is not therefore wrong to punish
the accused (who is a village headman) under article 242 if it is
established that his battery of the victim attained that degree of
severity (hearing of 12 November 1945, Appeal No. 1466, judicial year
15).

173. The
chief element of the use of force in the offence provided for in article
129 of the Penal Code obtains with any material act that is likely
to cause the victim bodily pain, however slight, even if the act causes
no apparent injuries. It therefore includes battery and minor trauma
(hearing of 14 April 1952, Appeal No. 264, judicial year 22).

174. The
chief elements of the use of force offence provided for in article
129 of the Penal Code are present where it is shown that the suspect
assaulted the victim based on the authority of his position. It is
unnecessary to state the injuries inflicted on the victim as a result
of the assault (hearing of 16 November 1954, Appeal No. 1022, judicial
year 24).

175. The
Court of Cassation ruled that the provision of article 129 of the
Penal Code concerned only those means of violence which did not involve
arresting individuals and placing them in confinement. This article
appears among those dealing with the offences of coercion and ill-treatment
of individuals by public officials in volume II, chapter VI, on felonies
and misdemeanours prejudicial to the public interest. Articles 180
and 282 of the Penal Code appear among those dealing with offences
of the unlawful arrest and detention of individuals in volume III,
chapter V, on felonies and misdemeanours involving individuals. This
distinction in the titles under which these articles appear demonstrates
the thinking of the Egyptian legislator in that he regards the encroachment
on individual freedom by means of arrest, imprisonment or detention
as an offence categorically committed by a public official or other
person (Appeal No. 1286 of judicial year 34, hearing of 8 December
1964, record 15, page 805).

(b) Rulings
pronounced by the military judiciary

176. In Military
Felony Case No. 18 of 1993, Office of the Military Prosecutor General,
the court acquitted the suspects based on their plea that their confessions
in the arrest report were invalid, as it established through its investigations
that the plea was genuine and declared their acquittal on the ground
that the only documented evidence was the confessions which they had
made under coercion during the investigations.

177. In Military
Felony Case No. 23 of 1994, Office of the Military Prosecutor General,
the defence pleaded that the statements of some of the suspects were
invalid because they had been subjected to torture. Discounting this
plea for the reason that the forensic reports did not state that the
suspects bore any marks of torture, the court dismissed it. On the
contrary, far from being the result of torture, the marks noticed
on some of the suspects were produced during their attempted escape
when they were pursued by inhabitants who beat them up when they learnt
that they were among those involved in killing tourists and nationals.
The forensic reports affirmed that such injuries could have occurred
as stated in the account given by the arresting officer (i.e., assault
by inhabitants), which was accepted. In its opinion, the Court stated
that the Department of Public Prosecutions had begun its investigations
by physically examining the suspects and recording the injuries which
some of them displayed, thus confirming that there were no factual
or legal grounds for the defence that they had been subjected to physical
coercion.

178. In Military
Felony Case No. 12 of 1995, Office of the Military Prosecutor General,
the defence sought to invalidate the confessions attributed to the
suspects in general on the grounds that they had been made under coercion
and torture and therefore had no legitimacy. The court replied to
these pleas by stating that the confessions had been made to the Department
of Military Prosecutions, which is the responsible party in the proceedings,
and that none of the suspects had stated that he had been subjected
to torture. As such, their confessions were made during the course
of legitimate procedures, in which case the investigations had no
connection with pre-investigation measures in breach of the law. Nevertheless,
the court decided to inform the competent prosecution of its views
concerning transgressions in that connection. Generally speaking,
the military court always rejects as evidence of guilt confessions
made by suspects which are proved to the court to have been made under
coercion or torture and does not take them into account. A suspect
who, under torture or coercion, makes a confession during any stage
of the pre-trial investigation that is subsequently eliminated as
false may be convicted on other documented evidence in the proceedings.

179. In Military
Felony Case No. 18 of 1993, Office of the Military Prosecutor General,
although it placed no confidence in the confessions which they had
made under torture, the court convicted the suspects on the basis
of other documented evidence against them.

180. In Military
Felony Case No. 10 of 1994, Office of the Military Prosecutor General,
although the suspect's documented confessions in the case were deemed
null and void after the court harboured suspicions that they had been
made under duress, it convicted him on other documented evidence in
the case.

181. These
rulings confirm the full compliance of the military judiciary with
all the legal rules prescribed in the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal
Procedure. It also provides all the safeguards prescribed for citizens
under the Constitution in connection with prohibiting and designating
as crimes the acts of torture prohibited under the provisions of the
Convention, even when the provisions of the Emergency Act are in force.

III. THE PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE

182. The
recommendations of the Committee contained in its reports of 1993
and 1996 have been thoroughly studied by the committee constituted
in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs comprising representatives of
the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior, the Department
of Public Prosecutions and the military judiciary. The aim of doing
so was to make use of the recommendations in the relevant fields,
since they are taken as guidelines provided by independent experts
in the light of their international experience with a view to strengthening
and protecting individual rights and social integrity. In the context
of Egypt's full respect for its contractual obligations in connection
with this Convention, and in accordance with its established policy
of welcoming permanent cooperation with the United Nations and its
human rights agencies, the following measures were taken:

(a) A working
group was formed consisting of representatives of the authorities
involved in the administration of justice (the Ministry of the Interior,
the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Public Prosecutions),
as well as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (being the point of contact
and coordination in the field of human rights), human rights experts
and specialists in the relevant research centres and colleges.

(b) The
status of the mechanisms in Egypt which are concerned with implementation
of the Convention were studied and their effectiveness evaluated in
order to identify the best way of enhancing and developing their performance
and determining the need for new mechanisms in this field.

(c) A second
working group consisting of representatives of the authorities involved
in the administration of justice, as well as representatives of the
ministries concerned with devising and organizing educational programmes
for ordinary, further and higher education, was charged with studying
the current status of human rights curricula and syllabuses and evaluating
the need to introduce new subjects and develop those already being
taught, with the focus on assessing the need for training and initiative
courses for personnel working in the administration of justice and
formulating future plans in that connection.

183. The
detailed studies of the above working groups produced the following
conclusions:

(i) In the
light of the safeguards, follow-up procedures and measures for the
prevention of prohibited acts which were discussed in the commentary
on articles 11 and 12 and which are provided by the Egyptian legal
system at the constitutional and legislative levels and by the provisions
of the Convention against Torture, which is an Egyptian law, the view
is that there is currently no need to establish new monitoring mechanisms.
Instead, emphasis should be placed on the importance of strengthening
and stimulating the role of the present mechanisms established by
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Department of Public Prosecutions
and on enabling them to undertake their tasks. Emphasis should also
be placed on coordination with these mechanisms with a view to the
exchange of expertise and information. Part two of this report has
already cited the information provided by the Office of Human Rights
at the Department of Public Prosecutions concerning judicial processes
in connection with complaints received between 1993 and 1995. It also
cited the information received from the Ministry of the Interior concerning
the administrative and disciplinary measures taken concerning complaints
of use of force and torture and compensation awarded to victims between
1993 and 1997.

(ii) Interest
in legal, statistical, field and applied research by universities
and specialized scientific centres is encouraged and their findings
are used to draw up future plans in the relevant fields of action,
reveal the shortcomings to be addressed and determine the means of
doing so.

(iii) In
1993, the Office of Human Rights was established in the Department
of Public Prosecutions with a deputy attorney-general at its head.
It is staffed by several experts from the Department of Public Prosecutions
who devote their time exclusively to investigating complaints concerning
offences in connection with human rights violations, including torture
and use of force, with the aim of endeavouring to complete investigations
promptly and within a reasonable period of time. Two further aims
were to train personnel from the Department of Public Prosecutions
in order to equip them with the experience needed to deal with these
types of investigations and to standardize the processing of the cases
involved in order to facilitate compilation of the statistics needed
to study the indicators showing the practical aspects entailed in
the implementation of the Convention. It was as a corollary of this
that the information and statistics contained in part two of this
report were produced.

(iv) Executive
plans for the continuous training of personnel working in the administration
of justice at the different levels, both locally and internationally,
were drawn up. The plans are concerned with the effective implementation
of the various human rights agreements to which Egypt has acceded
and which have consequently become an integral part of national legislation.
They are also concerned with providing information on developments
in the legislative and applied fields in line with the outcome of
the Committee's recommendations and based on the studies undertaken
in their respective fields by the agencies concerned. Training courses
in the fields of justice administration were organized. Data from
the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior provides
a practical example of such courses (details contained in part two
of this report).

(v) Work
has been developed in the criminal justice agencies and offices with
the introduction of machine memory systems and computers in the Ministry
of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior, a development which has
now spread to the Court of Cassation and the appeal courts and is
currently under way in the courts of first instance and the Departments
of Criminal Status, Civil Status and Prisons. The impact of this development
will be felt in the ease with which data, information and legal and
administrative processes can be enumerated. It will also help to expedite
the judicial, legal and administrative follow-up and decision-making
processes.

(vi) The
Ministry of the Interior has endeavoured to provide the committee
concerned with certain information which was previously unavailable
for circulation so that it can be submitted to the Committee against
Torture as evidence of the increasing attention devoted to this subject
by the Ministry, whether from the standpoint of control with a view
to punishing anyone who abuses his authority or has a tendency to
use force or whether from the standpoint of training with a view to
familiarizing officers with human rights principles as an integral
part of their work in the field of enforcing justice (part two of
this report contains detailed statistics relating to the training
of officers and action taken on complaints sent to the Ministry of
the Interior, whether in terms of disciplinary questioning or compliance
with judicial processes).

(vii) As
part of its efforts to achieve transparency in matters of human rights,
Egypt has provided all the relevant United Nations mechanisms with
replies to the inquiries made of it. It has also continued its objective
dialogue with international non-governmental organizations, which,
during its discussion of Egypt's second report, was affirmed by the
Committee as a positive feature, which Egypt is endeavouring to pursue.

(viii) As
stated in part one of this report, university education includes special
curricula on human rights and fundamental freedoms, the result of
which will be to instil in this important segment of young people
the principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Conclusion

184. In concluding
this report, Egypt is keen to highlight the following facts.

185. Egypt
is a State believing in the principle of the sovereignty of the law,
which is the basis of government in the State in accordance with the
Constitution promulgated in 1971. The principle of separation of power
is also provided for under the Constitution, which also affirms the
independence and immunity of the judiciary, as well as the subjection
of the State to the law, these being two fundamental safeguards for
the protection of rights and freedoms. In addition, the Constitution
guarantees all human rights principles and as such they enjoy the
safeguards prescribed under Egypt's constitutional provisions, which
the national legislator may not contravene. All such matters are under
the control of the judiciary, represented in the Supreme Constitutional
Court, which, under the Constitution, is empowered to make decisions
as to the constitutionality of laws. In this respect, it should be
mentioned that the Department of Public Prosecutions in Egypt is a
branch of the judicial authority. Its members enjoy judicial protection
and cannot be removed from office.

186. At the
end of the last century, the Egyptian judicial legislator designated
all forms of torture as an offence and stipulated harsh punishment
for those who perpetrated or participated in torture or ordered it
to be carried out. The offence is also one in connection with which
criminal or civil proceedings are not subject to any statute of limitations
and the State guarantees compensation for any person who suffers infringement.
In addition, any confession, statement or evidence produced under
torture is null and void, even if true and genuine. The statistical
information contained in part two of this report confirms that all
agencies involved in the administration of justice are required to
implement in practice all the rules and safeguards in connection with
the acts prohibited under the Convention, as guaranteed by the legal
system and by the provisions of the Convention.

187. On that
basis, Egypt was one of the first States to accede to the Convention
against Torture, which, in accordance with article 151 of the Constitution,
became a law of the country. During its discussion of Egypt's second
report, the Committee expressed its satisfaction concerning this legal
system.

188. We have
constantly endeavoured to cooperate with the distinguished Committee
by submitting to it our periodic reports, replying to the questions
posed by its experts and dispatching officials and specialists to
provide any clarifications which it may require concerning the administration
of justice in our country.

189. It is
noteworthy that, in the context of Egypt's growing concern with human
rights issues, permanent mechanisms have been established to deal
with their every aspect at both the domestic and international levels:

(a) A Department
of Human Rights was established in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(September 1992) to serve as the connecting link between the relevant
domestic agencies and international organizations and bodies. It is
competent to prepare periodic reports for the treaty bodies of the
United Nations, as well as replies to the bodies and working group
of the Commission on Human Rights. It is also competent to engage
in dialogue with international non-governmental organizations and
to transfer and provide international expertise to relevant local
agencies (the Department is currently headed by a deputy assistant
emissary for human rights of the Minister for Foreign Affairs).

(b) The
Office of Human Rights, which falls directly under the Attorney-General,
was established in the Department of Public Prosecutions (1993) to
study, follow up and investigate human rights complaints (the Office
is headed by the Deputy Attorney-General and Justice).

190. The
above-mentioned facts reflect the extent of Egypt's compliance with
and respect for its contractual obligations in connection with the
Convention against Torture. They also affirm the efforts of the agencies
involved in the administration of justice in Egypt to investigate
all torture practices and punish those responsible for them, irrespective
of the time elapsed since the offence and whatever the standing of
its perpetrators.

191. In conclusion,
in submitting this report, Egypt wishes the distinguished Committee
enduring success in the performance of its valuable task. It also
welcomes the continuation of dialogue and is pleased to respond to
any questions of the distinguished Committee.